Roger, this is a great point. It sounds like you are looking at your employees individually and having conversations with them based on their communication preferences.
Dr. Jean Norris
I have an employee that is very emotional. Any critiques become an issue. I have found that if I don't "critique" but explore what is being done right, I get more positive results.
Excellent awareness, Donald. It's wonderful to see that you use what you have learned from past interactions to customize how you communicate with your faculty members to their preferred style! I'm guessing that when you choose to use what you know about the person you are communicating with, the message is received in a clear manner. Keep up the good work.
I find myself reverting back to my days as a faculty member trying to understand each of my reports personalities and learning styles. I realize there are some faculty I instinctively guide or direct them though my actions and movements, whereas other I want to draw a schematic or picture to get my point across. Past experience with each is a valuable resource when trying to help them accomplish their goals or assess their product
Wonderful awareness, Christine. Having the abikitybto adapt your communication style to another persons can be quite effective in ensuring the correct message is conveyed. I particularly love your example! It sounds like this is something that you try to do in your communication with others. How do you find it works for you?
If you are aware of the learning or communication style of the person you are dealing with and can adapt your approach accordingly, you will have a meaningful interaction and reduce uncertainty with your comments. When conducting a review for example, if you know someone is a visual learner, it might be effective to use a chart to identify how they measure up compared to the expectation of the team. Talking through a review may leave the employee feeling lost. By taking some time to adapt to the learning style of the person, the review may be received and understood more clearly.
This is a great approach, Michael! It sounds like you do your best to get a sense of others communication styles and preferences and adapt accordingly. I'm willing to bet that your colleagues and students appreciate your sensitivity and respond in a positive way. Keep up the good work!
I find that if I know how a co-worker is going to respond to a request I have before I speak with them I will change my approach to their style. I understand now that a co-workers learning/communication style affects the way they process information and requests. Knowing this in the future I will try to be more aware and take notes how different people respond to different ways information is presented. This is especially important when conducting a class and or giving a presentation. I find that if I am teaching a class or giving a presentation to a group and they are not getting it (which you can tell though body language or questions) I will change my approach which shows how it is important to understand and be able to change your communication technique to accommodate different learning/communication styles.
Learning a co-worker's communication style allows you to: give effective praise that demonstrates sincerity and generates motivation and enthusiasm; be better able to deliver criticism without creating confrontation and conflict, which results in conducting, for example, effective performance review sessions; make apologies that are heartfelt and convincing; be able to ask effective questions in order to probe for facts and provoke ideas; argue without offending, thereby communicating to resolve conflict and reach agreement; and communicate in order to build rapport and create trust.
